Persona

I am fascinated by people who spend their time, money, energy and lives in pursuit of being a someone else-someone heightened by costume, make-up and gesture, someone willing to make a fool of themselves and become a clown. Many images of clowns have been if sad, scary, or evil clowns. This was in direct opposition to all of the clowns I had met. These people were vibrant, excitable, happy, loved taking a skit to the fullest extent. With my project, Persona, I intend to show a range of contemporary clowns combined with audio interviews, to give the viewer insight into this surreal world.

On the subject of clowns, Marcel Marceau once said, “The most important thing is your face, you have to have a good face. It does not have to be a beautiful face, but it has to be an expressive face. And you have to let your face do the thinking”. Upon reading this, I knew I wanted to photograph only the face of a persona. I hope to capture the essence in the face and eyes, as Marceau describes.